Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian on a mission: empowering people to achieve their fitness, nutrition, health and wellness goals.

She holds a host of professional certifications including Certified Diabetes Educator, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, Licensed Corporate Wellcoach and RRCA certified running coach. As if that wasn’t enough, she also blogs. You can stop by her blog for a little inspiration or the skinny on complicated nutrition topics like trans fats.

Lynn practices what she preaches by embracing fitness in her own life. Some of her favorite activities include running, hiking, biking, strength training, swimming and yoga. She’s also recently taken up pickleball.

We had a chance to chat with Lynn and get the dish on why she become an RD, her favorite healthy food substitute and more.

What inspired you to become a registered dietitian? I followed a non-traditional path to become an RD. I won an ROTC scholarship to college, majored in European History and spent four years on active duty as a military intelligence officer. While in the Army, I became interested in wellness and maximizing health and used the Army’s education benefits to go back to school to become an RD.

What words do you live by when it comes to health and nutrition?I'm fortunate that my parents brought us up to enjoy a wide variety of physical activity and our meals were based on foods from my grandparents' gardens and farm. I continue to believe in a whole foods approach to eating, the importance of family mealtime, and daily outdoor physical activity as the foundation for not only excellent physical health, but also mental and emotional well-being.

Favorite healthy food substitutes:I like to reach for fresh fruit when I want something sweet and enjoy a fruit smoothie made with Greek yogurt, frozen fruit and granola for breakfast or an afternoon snack. I've started using hummus as a sandwich spread and love the taste and extra protein.

One piece of advice for people that want to start learning more about health and nutrition:Use the ChooseMyPlate guidelines for a simple and realistic method of learning about healthy foods. Healthy eating doesn't have to be complex or expensive!

What is the hobby you don't get to do nearly enough? Needlework like cross stitch, crocheting and knitting. I don't sit still long enough to do these on a regular basis.

What are the most common questions you receive?The two most common questions I receive are:

Why can't I lose weight? When people ask me this I explain that weight loss is possible when we are ready to make lasting changes in our approach to food and physical activity instead of focusing on the latest diet.

What's the best beverage? To this I answer, plain water because it quenches thirst without taste. I firmly believe that much of our weight and food problems today are because we've grown used to always having a sweet taste in our mouth from gum, mints and flavored beverages.